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Re: Did a little shooting tonight

A few pointers from a fellow shooter, but first some quick background. I shoot to fight with firearms, or more specifically to be prepared to fight with a firearm, not to punch holes on targets. The difference is night and day. It looks like with the setup you have here at least that is your goal as well. So take these with that in mind.

In IMG0489, at 0:02 you have a wide weaver stance where your body is almost turned at a 90' angle from where your feet are pointing. Stop that, unless you intend to shoot and move or some other situation absolutely requires it (bad cover/concealment or whatever).

From a logical viewpoint, you may be presenting a slightly smaller profile but your risk is, when wearing soft armour or plate carriers, that your sides are actually most vulnerable. Furthermore, you would be ENTIRELY unable to engage a target over your left shoulder because your body is already turned at such an odd angle.

From a physics viewpoint, you're not able to control the weapon as well as if you were using an isosceles stance with your nose over your toes.

Presented with a barricade like that, a squat would have been a more appropriate stance, granting you much greater control and quicker target ID in your peripheral and greater economy of motion (i.e. fewer wasted movements) when you needed to barricade switch.

At 0:07, you move and try to reload. Don't try to do one or the other. I understand this is competition shooting-for-time situation, but reload from cover and then move. Also, move with a heel-ball motion so if you DO have to reload while moving you have a more stable platform to work with.

Lastly, at 0:10 you reach your next barricade and hug it (closer than a full arm's reach). Get distance from your cover (unless your target is elevated), and get a proper sight picture before you roll-out from your barricade. Your target acquisition time will increase exponentially. If you cannot see a target from a covered and concealed position with your barricade, keep rolling out and slicing the pie.

For IMG0496, not a bad drill. Work on stance again and work on making certain you have good economy of motion. Also, power-stroke instead of using the slide release.

Did a little shooting tonight

Thanks for the heads up. We were just blowing off some work week steam but your points are well noted. Good to have another handgun shooter in here
What's your gun of choice for range and personal carry if you have a permit

"Everyone makes fun of us rednecks with our big trucks and all our guns........until the zombie apocalypse"

Re: Did a little shooting tonight

Originally Posted by Ven

Thanks for the heads up. We were just blowing off some work week steam but your points are well noted. Good to have another handgun shooter in here
What's your gun of choice for range and personal carry if you have a permit

I carry a Glock 19 in Condition 1 with at least one backup mag everywhere I go (15+14+1rds). I generally open carry, but that's a different topic entirely.
It's also my range handgun, though for any shooter that should be the case. Why shoot with a gun you don't carry?

If I go to the range, I normally try to have an AR15 with me as well to make sure I don't lose my touch with one while I save up to be able to afford one of my own. It's unbelievably important that all shooters understand the inherent limitations of a sidearm. A primary weapon (i.e. a carbine/long-rifle) is, by design, a more versatile weapon capable of being used in almost every situation a sidearm is but also way more. A sidearm (i.e. a handgun specifically) is strictly a self-defence weapon and, as I sometimes call it, an "oh ****" gun.

I'd much rather carry a weapon system capable of hitting targets from 5m-300m than a weapon that reaches from 0m to 50m at its best, but it isn't very practical (or politically accepted) to have an AR15 slung in Wal-Mart.

Re: Did a little shooting tonight

I'd stay away from Walther. They're definitely "plinkers" IMO and in my experience not nearly as reliable as the extensively-tested Glock models, XD models, or even the S&W M&Ps which are all top-notch quality. Hell, if you go into history, the Glocks were designed to REPLACE the Walthers and I feel they've done that with a great deal of success.

When I look for a gun, I want a gun that I can count on to shoot every time I need it to. Think like an AK47. You can pick that gun up and know it'll shoot -- not necessarily reliably (e.g. jamming problems) -- but it will definitely shoot.

The Glocks go through testing that is above and beyond what the average shooter would need. Completely safe from NDs from shock, stroke, and drops from 2m onto steel? And no more than 20/10,000 malfunctions? I have put well over 500-1000+ rounds down the tube of my Glock 19 and never had a failure. Ever.

That's incredible. For me, I like the Glock because it has so few moving parts. Mechanically speaking, the fewer parts you have moving and doing their thing, the less the chance of failure. And for me, that's exactly what I want -- a gun that I know I can pick up from a drawer, or my holster, and know it will fire 100% of the time every time.

Re: Did a little shooting tonight

I've carried a M&P9C (it's on my hip IWB as I type this) for about 4 years now and it's quality and reliability is as good as anything else I've owned. A M&P shield with it's thinner profile and single stack mag would make it that much more comfortable to carry, escpecially IWB.

Re: Did a little shooting tonight

Great advice Fuzzy. I was going to point out a few of the same things. I would also say, Ven, you should work on how much of your body you are presenting while firing. If I may direct your attention to the below picture of a very sexy and suave operator:

As you can see, as also mentioned by Fuzzy, there is standoff from the barricade but the firing is now down from the weak side. This drastically reduces exposure while firing and allowing the shooter to still hit all his targets. Just some food for though. Something to experiment with next time you go out plinking

KnyghtMare ~You could always tell the person holding the gun to your head you would like to play on a different server...

Re: Did a little shooting tonight

I have a Sig p229 E2 in 9mm that I carry IWB (Crossbreed Supertuck FTW). Over 2000 rounds with no problems. I also bought a M&P Shield 9mm for when it gets warmer, but have yet to run it through it's paces.